Pneumatic helmet



Nov. 25, 1952 c. A. CUSHMAN 2,618,780

PNEUMATIC HELMET Filed July 21, 1950 A Home) Patented Nov. 25, 1952UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PNEUMATIC HELMET Cecil A. Cushman, Redlands,Calif.

Application July 21, 1950, Serial No. 175,173

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel constructio of helmet adapted for usein protecting the head and neck of football players, aviators, racedrivers and others requiring a protective helmet.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide ahelmet which will be lighter in weight than conventional helmets nowbeing worn to protect the head yet which will afford a greater degree ofprotection.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a helmet which willprotect the nose and back of the neck from injuries occurring when ablow is directed toward the front or rear of the helmet as frequentlyoccurs in football and which frequently results in the helmet beingthrown forward or backward either injuring the nose or back of the neck.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a helmet whichwill afford the maximum protection to the head against a blow or forceagainst the outer side of the helmet and wherein the amount ofprotection afforded by the helmet may be varied to afford a greaterprotection in the areas of the head most likely to receive a directblow.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an inflated orpneumatic helmet whereby the force of any blow directed against theouter side of the helmet will be distributed to an extent over theentire head instead of being borne only in the vicinity of the blow,thereby minimizin the possibility of injury from a direct blow againstthe helmet.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a helmet which maybe readily accommodated to heads of different sizes by increasing ordecreasing the amount of air in the infiated portion thereof.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawing, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, andwherein; I

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the helmetconstructed in accordance with the invention; y g

Figure 2 is a frontelevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the same;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view thereof taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1; V V v Figure 5 is atopplan viewv of a slightly modified form of the invention; 7

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure,2,.and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along a plane asindicated by the line 'I1 of Figure 5.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and

first with reference to the embodiment thereof as illustrated in Figures1 to 4 and 6, the helmet designated generally 8 includes an outer shell,designated generally 9, of a conventional shape, as for example, a shapecorresponding to a conventional football helmet, and an inflatable orpneumatic liner, designated generally I0, of substantially the sameover-all shape as the shell.

The outer shell 9 may be formed of leather, fiber, plastic or othersuitable hard substance but is preferably formed of a relatively hardtransparent plastic and is provided with a front edge portion II whichis disposed above the level of its rear edge portion I2 and between theends of said edge portions II and I2, the shell 9 is provided with earportions I3 having relatively large openings I4, all as is conventionalin football helmets and similar head protective helmets worn by othersports competitors and aviators to protect the head. The shell 9 is alsopreferably provided with a plurality of vent openings I5, a plurality oflace receiving openings I6, and the ear portions I3 thereof are eachpreferably provided with a snap fastener portion I! by means of which achin strap, not shown, may be detachably connected at its ends to thebottom part of said ear portions I3.

The inflatable liner I0 may be formed of any suitable material which isairtight such as a plastic or rubber, but is preferably formed of aplastic, due to the fact that such material possesses less inherentelasticity than rubber so that the liner will more readily retain itsproper shape and thickness. The liner Ill includes an inner wall I8 andan outer wall I9 which walls are connected or integrally formed alongthe bottom edge of the liner I0. The walls I8 and I9 combine to formtherebetween an air chamber 20. The walls I8 and I9 are additionallyconnected by a plurality of integral portions 2| which extendtherebetween and which may be of any desired size and shape and whichprovide means for properly spacing the wall portions I8 and I9 withrespect to one another and so that certain complementary parts of thewalls I8 and I9 will be spaced greater distances apart than otherportions thereof. The liner I0 is provided with integral annularportions 22 defining openings 23 which extend through complementaryportions of the liner I0 and which are adapted to register with theopenings I4 of the shell 9. The connecting portions 2| and 22 are soarranged that all portions of the chamber or air pocket 20 are incommunication. Some or all of the connecting portions 2| are providedwith bores extending therethrough and through the innerand outer wallsI8 and I9 to provide vent passages 24 which register with the ventopenings I5 of the shell 9. The liner I0 is also provided with flattenededge portions 25 formed by parts of the inner and outer 3 walls It and19 being secured or sealed together and. in which openings are providedwhich register with the openings [5 for receiving laces 26 by which theliner 10 can be detachably secured in the shell 9. the liner lpreferably also include strips which extend from adjacent the top of theliner to adjacent its edge and certain of which strips may also beprovided with similar openings 21,.as seen in Figure 4, to register withother openings 16 of the shell 9 for receiving additional ties or laces26. If desired, the liner [0 may besecured to the shell 9 by any othersuitable means such as snap fasteners, not shown.

The helmet Be as illustrated in Figures and '7 is substantiallyidentical with the helmet 8 except that the liner Illa thereof in lieuof bein provided withspacing elements 2i of substantially circular crosssection is provided with a plurality of'spacingstrips 2 I a which extendradiallyfrom the edge of the liner l fia toward its center or apex, asbest seen in- Figure 5, and which connecting portions ZIa-are providedwith ven'tpassages 24a to registerwith vent openings l5a of the shell9a.

The outer wall l9-or llla-of the liner [0 or am, respectively, isprovided'with an integral valve 28 which extends outwardly through anopening 29 in the rear portion of the shell-9 or 9a adjacent its bottomedge. The'valve28 may be of any suitable type preferably correspondingto the valve now conventionally used for bladdersof footballs,basketballs and the like and through which an inflating needleis adaptedto be inserted for inflating the chamber 20 by means of an air pumpconnected" to the inflating needle, not shown.

It will be readily apparent that the air chamber or pocket 20 of theliner E0 or mamay be inflated to any'desired pressure and the thicknessof the liner between the outer side of its outer wall and the remoteside of its inner wall will vary, after inflation of the liner,depending-upon the length or thickness of the spacing elements 2l or 21awhich are disposed between the inner and outer walls of'the liner, sothat the inflated liner may be thicker-a'djacent-its top or apex'whereblows of considerable force" are more likely to be received than adjacerit its side edge portions where directblows of 'great force are lesslikely-to be received.

As bestillustrated in Figure '1, the forward and rear='edge portions ofthe liner-extend downwardly' tobelow the frontand rear'edges ofthehelmet shell and since'said edge portions ofthe liner are inflated theywill tend to expand outwardly beneath the front and rear edges ofthe'shell to provide a protective cushion for said edges to prevent thefront and rear edges of the shellfrom injuring the nose or back of theneck" of the wearer should a blow be directed againstthe helmet 8 orBa'which would tend toforce the helmet down in the front or in the back,respectively. It will also be readily apparent that byvaryingthe'extentthat the liner is inflated, the helmet 8 or 8a may beadapted to properly fit heads of different sizes. The shell 9 or 9a ispreferably formed of a'- transparent plastic and the liner [0' or I061of afcoloredplastic so that the colored liner will be'visible through'the'shell and will constitute the color ofthe helmet-and the color ofthe liners may'obviously' be varied, as desired; From the foregoing itwill be readily ap- The connecting portions 2| of parent that a helmetof relatively light weight has been provided which will afford the usera maximum of protection to the head, which will function to distributethe force of a blow against the helmet over a greater area of the head,thereby minimizing the effective force of the blow on any particularregion of the head due to the cushioning action of the inflated airchamber of the liner, and which will allow the liner to yield inwardlyat the point directly adjacent Where the blow is received whileincreasing the air pressure in the remainder of the liner to therebyaccomplish the distribution of the force of the blow.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to, without-departing from the spirit orscope of the inventionas hereinafter deflnedby the'appended claims.

I claim as J my invention: 1. A protective helmet comprising an outershell anda-liner disposed within and detach-- ably connected to saidouter'shell, said'shell be ing formed of a relatively stiff material,said liner constituting an: airtight casing defining an inflatedair'chamber disposed to line the inner side of the shell and having aninnerwall defining a head receiving'recess, said inflatable casingincluding inner-and outer walls formed-of aninelastic plastic havingintegrally merging edges and a plurality of internal spacing stripsextending between and formed integral with said inn'er and outer wallsand spacing saidwalls different distances apart in different areas ofthe helmet whereby the inflated air chamber of said liner includes areasof different thicknesses, said shell having vent openings, said linerhaving boresextending therethrough and through the spacing stripsand'disposed in registration with the vent openings of the shell, andsaidliner casing hav-'- ing bottom edge portions extending to belowthe2. A protective helmet as in claim 1, said -spac-' ing strips comprisinelongated relatively wide and thick bars each having portions of varyingwidthsand thicknesses, said-bars extending'up'-' wardly from near thebottom edgeof the liner in upwardly converging relationship to oneanother and terminating below and spaced from the apex of the liner.

CECIL A; CUSHMAN'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references" are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES I PATENTS Number Name Date 1,886,551 Jones Nov. 8; 19322,150,290 Mulvey Mar. 14; 1939 2,194,903 Holstein Mar. 26, 1940 FOREIGN1 PATENTS- Number Country f Date 7,870 Great Britain --l89 5 260,607Italy Oct. 3; 1928

